Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Narbonne Museum of Art and History originated in a revolutionary project born in 1792, when painter Jacques Gamelin proposed the creation of a Museum to combine confiscated works of art as national property. It was only in 1833, under the leadership of the scholar Paul Tournal and the Narbonne Archaeological Commission, that the museum was officially founded by decree of 21 October. Its collections, formed ex nihilo, were thus enriched by purchases, donations (legs Peyre in 1859, Barathier in 1867), and deposits, while integrating preserved historical decorations of the palace of archbishops, such as the chapel of the Madeleine (XII century) or the room of the Synods (XIV century).

The palace itself, a fortified residence remodeled from the 17th to the 19th century, offers an exceptional setting for the works. Among its architectural jewels are the King's bedroom (1632), decorated with a boxed ceiling painted by the Rodière brothers for Louis XIII, or the archbishops' dining room with its 18th century stuccos. The collections were structured around three major poles: the fine arts (European paintings from the 16th to 16th centuries, including works by Philippe de Champaigne or Hyacinthe Rigaud), the ancient faiences (Marseille, Moustiers, Rouen), and an orientalist foundation unique in France, enriched in the late 1990s and exhibited in two dedicated rooms, evoking a Maghreb palace and the mosque in Cordoba.

The evolution of the museum also reflects disciplinary recompositions. The archaeological collections, originally presented here (including the remains of the Clos de la Lombarde, searched since 1974), were transferred in 2019 to the future MuRéNa (Ancient Narbonne Regional Museum). The palace of archbishops, classified as a historical monument, thus retains its dual vocation: to witness to local history through its decorations (room of the Guards, chapel Saint-Martial) and to house masterpieces such as Roger Bezombs's Desenchantées or the faiences legated by Mathieu Barathier. The restoration of 2004 and the opening of the orientalist halls marked a key step in its heritage development.

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